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Some Misconceptions

Mr. Earl Swan’s Dec. 7 letter “Delusion, Dawdling, and Silliness” gives me the opportunity to clear up some misconceptions people may have about the Town of Guilford’s plan for a mult-iuse trail along Route 1, which is intended to become a part of the Shoreline Greenway Trail (SGT). This trail is a town project; Guilford received funding from a federal earmark for the planning, design, and construction of a section of the SGT. The funds are administered by the State of Connecticut Department of Transportation. Shoreline Greenway Trail, Inc., applied for and received state bond funding in order to assist the town with the local match requirement. We also applied for and received funding from the Department of Energy & Environmental Protection’s Trails and Greenways Program in order to help the Town of Guilford with the final funding it needed to complete the Route 1 project.

As I stated at the hearing on Dec. 1, the SGT will take many forms; while it is our goal to help our towns develop bicycle and pedestrian connections both between and within our towns, we know that our towns are not in a position to create a consistent, 10-foot-wide, multi-use trail. Some towns may even have places where a route is simply designated as a way for bicyclists to connect between SGT trail sections and is not officially part of the SGT. We understand that each town will consult with its residents and reach decisions unique to its needs and possibilities.

The Guilford Board of Selectmen will start holding public workshops on the Route 1 project in January. SGT is in favor of any opportunity our shoreline towns give their residents to learn more about town projects that will bear the SGT name.

Judith D. Miller, Chair,

Shoreline Greenway Trail